Hibs head coach David Gray is still waiting to hear if three of his key players will be available for Monday night’s match against Rangers at Ibrox.
Rocky Bushiri, Jordan Obita and Miguel Chaiwa have been called up by their respective countries – DR Congo, Uganda and Zambia – for the Africa Cup of Nations, which begins next Sunday.
Fifa’s mandatory date for clubs to release players for the tournament is Monday, but Hibs are in talks with the relevant governing bodies for an extension that would allow the trio to play at Ibrox before departing.
“We’ve still not got complete confirmation,” Gray said.
“So I don’t want to say that and then it not be the case. There’s still communication and conversations going on with the nations.
“I still expect us to have a couple available but that might change as well, so I’ve not got any concrete confirmation as yet. I expect that should be resolved in the next day or so.
“There are a lot of conversations going on, because we want to try to keep the players as long as we can, and the countries want to try to get them as early as they can because they’ve got a major tournament to prepare for.
“I would be exactly the same if I were a national team manager, I would want to try to get the players as early as you can. I fully understand that as well, so it’s about trying to work out the best solution for everybody.
“The players need to consider their position as well, and how they feel and getting in the right frame of mind for playing and when they meet up, and flights and everything that comes with that. So there are a few challenges that we’ve still got to get to between now and the weekend.
“There’s constant communication between everybody – us as a club, the player and then the national team, to make sure that it’s resolved as early as it possibly can be.”
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